The first word that comes to mind when I think of Ben Gordon is “disappointment.” One of the most electrifying scorers in the league during his days as a Bull, he foolishly signed with a Detroit team that was absolutely loaded with wing players, and now everyone unfairly considers him a Charlie Villanueva-type bust. As dangerous of a shooter as Steph Curry, a team starved for perimeter scoring options should pay attention to Gordon. Imagine if the Celtics scooped him up. Yes, Ray Allen looks good in Celtic Green, but look past the sentimentality and a team with Rajon Rondo and Gordon in the backcourt would be more than formidable.

Ben Gordon, Jerryd Bayless, and Ramon Sessions are all overpaid (although I think Bayless may still be on his rookie deal). It might seem like they need a change in scenery to step their game up but at the end of the day they are what they are: shooting guards stuck in point guards bodies, who can’t play point guard.

Also, Dwight Howard doesn’t DESERVE a trade. The Magic have every right to tell him to re-sign with them at the end of the season or to go fuck himself out of $26 million by signing with another team in free agency. This is why the owners just had a lockout… they wanted to make players give up something if they wanted to have a choice of where they played. It seems like Howard is going to be the first one to test the new system since CP3 already got his way.

I don’t think anybody is going to confuse Gordon for a 1 or Sessions for a 2. Both are very good at doing what their position dictates: shoot (with Gordon) and penetrate/dish (Sessions). I’ll grant you that Bayless’s position is kind of awkward, though. Still, he gets buckets when he gets PT.

Ben Gordon can’t guard most 2’s though since he’s only 6’3 he can be a liability on defense. If you move him over to the 1 then you have an inefficient point. Gordon’s best role is as a back up role player who comes in as an offensive spark on the bench. If he’s your teams starting 2 guard, you’re probably not good enough to win a championship.

However, I was wrong about Sessions… must’ve been thinking of a different player.

I think you’re undervaluing the impact of a scorer lol. His game is very one-dimensional, but dude almost single-handedley beat the Celtics in 2008 (Maybe it was 2009? Can’t remember the specific year). I don’t think Gordon will ever be the face of a franchise, but dude still has 20 PPG talent, as he proved time and again with Chicago. Totally depends on who he plays for and who he is forced to guard, but there HAS to be a better opportunity out there than rotting away on Detroit’s bench while Rodney freaking Stuckey gets all the minutes.

Did anyone else see how Adidas would “prefer” not to have Howard join Chicago? as they feel putting their 2 flagship stars in one market, on the same team isn’t good for them. Can they really dictate that much?

But enough of all that. AJ, can you imagine the young nucleus of Kyrie, Mayo, Casspi, Tristan and Verajao? Thats how you rebuild with youth and excitement.

And BTW AJ, Sessions & Harangody for Balkman, Walker and Harrelson may work financially. Just sayin… “What’s not to like” lol

You watch the Cavs game last night? Sessions was one of the only players that actually looked like he wanted to be on the floor. He’s gonna be good wherever he goes. Tristan looked like a beast, too. And I would LOVE if they nabbed Mayo.

Did anyone else see how Adidas would “prefer” not to have Howard join Chicago? as they feel putting their 2 flagship stars in one market, on the same team isn’t good for them. Can they really dictate that much?
=============
I didn’t see that but you may be surprised at how much sway companies can have over athletes.

Did anyone else see how Adidas would “prefer” not to have Howard join Chicago? as they feel putting their 2 flagship stars in one market, on the same team isn’t good for them. Can they really dictate that much?

^^^

Your ignoring media markets and brand awareness

Chicago has a larger population and media market than Orlando

So if Howard and Rose where on the same team Addias would only increase their brand awareness in a large market

Bulls are the second or third most popular team in Chicago, adding Howard and most likely they’ll be number one

Also Howard could help propel the Bulls to a more prominent national visibility

Increasing addias brand awareness nationally

Howard doesn’t want to go the Bulls because the trade would weaken the team

If I were MAgic management I would trade Howard to the bulls for Noah, Deng and Boozer or Gibson in exchange for Turks contract and a few first round picks

As one high-ranking sneaker executive says, “Adidas simply cannot have its two signature players on the same team in the same market. … Derrick is the face of that market, owns that market, and Adidas can’t possibly have maximum bang for its buck with Dwight there.

^^^

If the journalist doesn’t have a name for the source I don’t respect it

Journalists NEVER reveal their sources. If they did that, their sources wouldn’t trust them anymore. And saying you can’t respect Adrian Wojnarowski for NBA news, is like saying Adam Schefter is full of shit for the NFL. Ridiculous

Bayless is exactly where he needs to be. How are you going to say a guy that’s played for three teams in three years need to be dealt to develop. In toronto he has a young team to play on, plenty of minutes that can be earned, and a coach who believes in him.

the other four could use a new home. deserve though? i’m not sure mid-20s millionaires deserve anything more than what they have.

Bayless… first of all, saying that he played for three teams is kind of unfair, ’cause he only played 10 games for the Hornets. That kind of fucks him over opportunity-wise, getting yanked around that much. I’d just love to see someone give up 25-30 minutes a game to see what he can do. He definitely has talent, but he won’t be able to prove his worth without getting consistent PT.

I get the gist of the article, but I don’t think any NBA players “deserve” to be traded. With guaranteed contracts, these guys can just wait out their time until Free Agency hits and can sign with whoever they want. If a player is stuck in a shithole for an extended period of time, it’s probably because he willingly signed a contract to play there. Plus you have that bullshit NBA rule that allows players to be released and signed for the league minimum by a contending team.

Plus, in Dwight Howard’s case, he had the chance to win and the Magic couldn’t seal the deal. That’s just as much on Howard as it is anyone else on the team. And now he’s acting like a bitch about it. Ever since the Heat connected like Voltron, every All-Star in the league thinks he needs to play with 2 other All-Stars to be successful. Man up and put that team on your back, big man.

Maybe Dwight asking to be traded is a sideways admission he can’t be the cornerstone. Dude isn’t an offensive powerhouse after all and the Magic were the clear underdogs in the 09 finals. And the way the roster looks now it’s easy to see that won’t be back anytime soon. So while he, like many players, are being jerks by playing with the media at least he let management know he wanted a trade so they can get something in return. Besides Otis Smith shouldn’t slide by easy what with him dismantling the team last year.

I really don’t have a problem with superstars leaving when things don’t look up after years of trying. Everybody wants to see fairy tales of legends winning chips by sticking with a franchise but that’s not reality. For every MJ, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson there are tons of players like Ewing, Payton, Miller, Stockon, Malone and Barkley who were the face of their team for a while, had a shot (or shots) in the Finals and didn’t get the chip. OK well Payton chased his ring in Miami but those Sonics teams couldn’t get over the hump on top of coming up in the wrong era like any other top squad in the 90’s. Winning like Dallas did last year with Dirk and no other All Stars was the exception: not the rule. The only other team in somewhat recent memory who did that were the 94 Rockets. Everyone has to lose but if you have an opportunity to make your situation better elsewhere you should take it. Just be decent about leaving.

Of course but I meant the way their team was constructed isn’t the norm. There aren’t many championship teams with only one star in the past 30 years. You obviously need a balanced team but in most cases during the time frame at least two stars were at the forefront for rings. That’s why I brought the 94 Rockets into the equation as well. And to my knowledge the 04 Pistons fit the description as well.

I’ll tell anybody this: LeBron had every right to bolt. The Cavs put a shit team around him for seven years, and they ultimately paid the price. I will forever hate him for the way he left, and the simple fact that he doesn’t play for MY team anymore definitely adds to the ill will, but you can’t do it alone in any sport. Which is pretty much what he’d been doing for that entire time. Mo Williams as your second-best player? Fuck outta here.

I’m not saying that great players shouldn’t look to greener pastures and that legends don’t deserve a shot at a title before they retire (no one on this list is even close to legendary, BTW), but demanding a trade because you couldn’t carry your team just looks like sour grapes. Go to management and ask for a trade and quit using the media to land where you want to.

But do you really think Mayo is going to become the All-Star talent that he looked capable of becoming if he stays with that squad? Put him on a young squad that NEEDS someone reliable to come in and take 15-20 shots a game and play 30 + minutes. He needs a spot to shine, and I don’t think he’s ever going to be more than a luxury bench player on Memphis.

AJ: Lebron approved every trade the Cavs made. He even nixed a trade that would have gotten the Cavs Amare because he didn’t want the Cavs to trade JJ Hickson, So he was the reason he had a shit team around him

I really don’t buy that lol. They might have told him “ay, Bron, we’re getting Larry Hughes,” but you make it sound like he was the official GM. I hate LeBron. Hate him. But the Cavs did a really bad job at creating an environment where he’d actually wanna stay.

He even nixed a trade that would have gotten the Cavs Amare because he didn’t want the Cavs to trade JJ Hickson
___________________________

Come on fam, I’m a LeBron “hater” too but you can’t honestly believe what you just said. LeBron might only play for 3 quarters, but he isn’t an idiot.

Cavs management thought Hickson had potential so they refused to include him in the deal for Amare because they didn’t want to end up with no young players and no superstars if both Amare and LeBron bolted in free agency. The Cavs would have included Hickson in the deal if Amare agreed to an extend and trade, which Amare was willing to do as long as LeBron was willing to commit as well. As we all know by now, LeBron refused to commit to anything beyond the end of the season… so Amare did the same thing. Once Amare refused the extension based on LeBron’s situation the trade fell apart and the Cavs turned to Jamison as their plan B.

Star players always have a MAJOR say. Shaq said it himself on the Christmas preshow.
_____________________________

Shaq is the same guy who forced his way out Los Angeles and then Miami because he was beefin with management lol.

AJ: Lebron approved every trade the Cavs made. He even nixed a trade that would have gotten the Cavs Amare because he didn’t want the Cavs to trade JJ Hickson, So he was the reason he had a shit team around him

—

Are you sure about that? I remember someone on Yahoo or ESPN tossed that about as a rumor but there was more truth suggesting either Kerr or Ferry ultimately axed the deal. Funny how J.J. was a lynch pin for his potential only for him to get sent off for Omri Casspi. That fool HIckson is on my fantasy team and he only got like 4 points and 5 boards against LA last night.

If my memory serves me correctly, Ferry and Kerr couldn’t agree on a deal. Ferry refused to include Hickson unless Amare was going to extend for sure and Kerr refused to deal Amare unless Hickson was included. Amare appeared to be willing to sign the extension if he was signing up to play with LeBron, but LeBron wouldn’t let Amare in on his plans so Amare wasn’t going to sign that extension, which lead to the trade falling apart.